By Kim Hyun-cheol
Staff Reporter
Microsoft (MS) CEO Steve Ballmer on Monday promised to solidify partnerships with Korean companies.
"Korea is the leader in the world's technology industries. Korea is very much on a leading edge, and Microsoft wants to partner deeply with Korean companies to move forward," Ballmer said.
"I am super excited by what we see in this country in innovation. Some of our most important departments and headquarters are here, and certainly the opportunity to really work with Korean industries, on the global advance in technology, is a fantastic opportunity for us, and you can count on us to continue," he added.
Ballmer didn't miss out on his signature aggressiveness ― not in the way he said it but in what he stressed as a significant value companies need to go forward.
"At the end of the day, I think most of us understand the best business solution in a tough business time is actually growth, not contraction," Ballmer said during a speech hosted by the Federation of Korean Industries in Seoul.
Ballmer also made it clear MS will continue active investment despite the current global economic slump.
"We will make our investment grow slightly less, but we are not cutting back investment," he said. "We told our shareholders in July that we will increase our operating expenses by $4 billion in the 2009 fiscal year. I think it's the largest increase any company has proposed."
The 52-year-old CEO signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with LG Electronics on cooperation on mobile convergence. LG plans to launch a smart phone product with the latest version of Window Mobile, an operation system by MS.
He also met with key executives of Samsung on an operation platform for smart phones, as well as having a talk with President Lee Myung-bak on support for small-sized software developers, before heading for Japan.
In talks with President Lee, Ballmer said MS will invest $600 million in the local software industry over the next three years Chong Wa Dae said. The company also signed an MOU on mutual cooperation with the Korea Software Industry Promotion Agency.
MS is currently struggling in the market, as Window Mobile is trailing Symbian by Nokia, and RIM by Blackberry.
The whole market for smart phones is estimated to surpass the 400-million-unit mark in 2010, from 170 million units this year. Its share in the cell phone market reached 10 percent last year, and is expected to be over 30 percent in 2011.
The executive said most information would be more 'visible' in the near future.
"Ten years from now, all content will be consumed visually ― everything we read, everything we watch and everything we hear will be delivered in an intelligent IP network," he said.